Ruth 2
2
Ruth Gleans in Boaz’ Field
1Now Naomi had a relative of her husband, a man of great wealth and influence, from the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. 2And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field and #2:2 Gleaning was a right granted to the poor and to strangers by God—a kind of divinely-appointed welfare system. Farmers were instructed not to glean their fields or vineyards, that is, not to collect the excess stalks of grain or grapes left over by reapers, and not to have the extremities of their fields reaped (Lev 19:9, 10).glean among the ears of grain after one [of the reapers] in whose sight I may find favor.” Naomi said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 3So Ruth went and picked up the leftover grain in a field after the reapers; and she happened to stop at the plot of land belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. 4It was then that Boaz came back from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you!” And they answered him, “The Lord bless you!” 5Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” 6The servant in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 7And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the #2:7 I.e. bundles of stalks bound together for transport to the threshing floor where the grain would be separated.sheaves.’ So she came and has continued [gathering grain] from early morning until now, except when she sat [resting] for a little while in the [field] house.”
8Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen carefully, my daughter. Do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but stay here close by my maids. 9Watch which field they reap, and follow behind them. I have commanded the servants not to touch you. And when you are thirsty, go to the [water] jars and drink from what the servants draw.” 10Then she kneeled face downward, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes that you should notice me, when I am a foreigner?” 11Boaz answered her, “I have been made fully aware of everything that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people that you did not know before. 12May the Lord repay you for your kindness, and may your reward be full from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” 13Then she said, “Let me find favor in your sight, my lord, for you have comforted me and have spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not as one of your maidservants.”
14At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come over here and eat some bread and dip your bread in the vinegar.” So she sat beside the reapers; and he served her roasted grain, and she ate until she was satisfied and she had some left [for Naomi]. 15When she got up to glean, Boaz ordered his servants, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not insult her. 16Also you shall purposely pull out for her some stalks [of grain] from the sheaves and leave them so that she may collect them, and do not rebuke her.”
17So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an #2:17 This was about one bushel, enough food for several days.ephah of barley. 18She picked it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. Ruth also took out and gave to Naomi what she had saved after she [had eaten and] was satisfied. 19Her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.” 20Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed of the Lord who has not ceased His kindness to the living and to the dead.” Again Naomi said to her, “The man is one of our closest relatives, one who has the right to #2:20 According to OT law (Lev 25:25), if an Israelite became so impoverished that he sold his property, his closest relative was to buy it back, so that the land would remain within the family. Such a person was called a redeemer. Another law stated that if a married man died childless, his brother was obligated to marry his widow and raise a son in the deceased brother’s name, so that the name would be carried on in Israel (Deut 25:5-10; cf Gen 38:8-10). Being aware of these laws and their applications by the scholars of that time, Naomi conceived of a plan (see ch 3:1-4) that might bring Ruth and Boaz together by having Boaz serve as a redeemer both to purchase a field that Naomi owned, and to fulfill the obligation of Deut 25:5 ff by marrying Ruth.redeem us.” [Lev 25:25] 21Then Ruth the Moabitess said, “He also said to me, ‘Stay close to my servants until they have harvested my entire crop.’ ” 22Naomi said to Ruth, “It is good, my daughter, for you to go out [to work] with his maids, so that others do not assault you in another field.” 23So she stayed close to the maids of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests. And she lived with her mother-in-law.
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Ruth 2
2
Ruth Works in the Field of Boaz
1Naomi had a relative named Boaz, a rich and influential man who belonged to the family of her husband Elimelech. 2#Lev 19.9–10; Deut 24.19One day Ruth said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields to gather the corn that the harvest workers leave. I am sure to find someone who will let me work with him.”
Naomi answered, “Go ahead, my daughter.”
3So Ruth went out to the fields and walked behind the workers, picking up the corn which they left. It so happened that she was in a field that belonged to Boaz.
4Some time later Boaz himself arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the workers. “The LORD be with you!” he said.
“The LORD bless you!” they answered.
5Boaz asked the man in charge, “Who is that young woman?”
6The man answered, “She is the young woman from Moab who came back with Naomi. 7She asked me to let her follow the workers and pick up the corn. She has been working since early morning and has just now stopped to rest for a while under the shelter.”
8Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Let me give you some advice. Don't pick up corn anywhere except in this field. Work with the women here; 9watch them to see where they are reaping and stay with them. I have ordered my men not to molest you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and drink from the water jars that they have filled.”
10Ruth bowed down with her face touching the ground, and said to Boaz, “Why should you be so concerned about me? Why should you be so kind to a foreigner?”
11Boaz answered, “I have heard about everything that you have done for your mother-in-law since your husband died. I know how you left your father and mother and your own country and how you came to live among a people you had never known before. 12May the LORD reward you for what you have done. May you have a full reward from the LORD God of Israel, to whom you have come for protection!”
13Ruth answered, “You are very kind#2.13 You are very kind; or Please be kind. to me, sir. You have made me feel better by speaking gently to me, even though I am not the equal of one of your servants.”
14At mealtime Boaz said to Ruth, “Come and have a piece of bread, and dip it in the sauce.” So she sat with the workers, and Boaz passed some roasted grain to her. She ate until she was satisfied, and she still had some food left over. 15-16After she had left to go on picking up corn, Boaz ordered the workers, “Let her pick it up even where the bundles are lying, and don't say anything to stop her. Besides that, pull out some corn from the bundles and leave it for her to pick up.”
17So Ruth went on gathering corn in the field until evening, and when she had beaten it out, she found she had nearly ten kilogrammes. 18She took the corn back into town and showed her mother-in-law how much she had gathered. She also gave her the food left over from the meal. 19Naomi asked her, “Where did you gather all this? Whose field have you been working in? May God bless the man who took an interest in you!”
So Ruth told Naomi that she had been working in a field belonging to a man named Boaz.
20 #
Lev 25.25
“May the LORD bless Boaz!” Naomi exclaimed. “The LORD always keeps his promises to the living and the dead.” And she went on, “That man is a close relative of ours, one of those responsible for taking care of us.”
21Then Ruth said, “Best of all, he told me to keep picking up corn with his workers until they finish the harvest.”
22Naomi said to Ruth, “Yes, my daughter, it will be better for you to work with the women in Boaz' field. You might be molested if you went to someone else's field.” 23So Ruth worked with them and gathered corn until all the barley and wheat had been harvested. And she continued to live with her mother-in-law.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.